Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

ad hoc wrote: Has Kerber even won a match since Melbourne? It seems like she's crashed out of every tournament since then

She won a reasonably high profile tournament in Stuttgart, and had decent results in the US. It's been more wildly up-and-down that relentless defeats. But there have been a fair few R1 exits mixed in, for sure.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

ad hoc wrote: Meanwhile flavour of the month Thiem is a set down to quixotic Spaniard, Cervantes

Very good.

Murray won that opening service game against Stepanek. He could also do with breaking now to win the set 6-2 and serve first in the decider. He has had at least one set point but didn't convert.

[ad hoc]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Murray didn't break and so will serve second in the final set (he won it 6-3). Also Bedene has just won

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

John Isner is at it again. Score in his match with John Millman is 6-7^4-7 7-6^14-12 7-6^9-7. There have been some breaks of serve, though, so 70-68 is vanishingly unlikely.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Fifth set has stayed on serve so Murray is now on the brink. Unless he can break every service game will be win it or go out.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

There is the break. Can he finish it off?

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Yep, done. Unnecessarily physically and mentally draining though. He will need two quiet, simple wins in the next two rounds to get his resources back up to par.

3/3 for the British men, and 1/2 for the Women so far. Pretty good.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Murray is back playing again tomorrow iirc. He's going to be mentally rather than physically exhausted but a straight sets win should ease the pressure.

Nice to see how Murray and Stepanek reacted after the match, despite the gamesmanship there was a lot of respect.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Murray should be on tomorrow, yes. His opponent, Mathias Bourgue (a local wild card) has had today to recover, but was reportedly cramping at the end of his R1 match. That was 'only' a three setter, but a 3+ hour one (two breakers and a 7-5). If sounds like Murray will be the less worn down of the two!

[ad hoc]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Both British women up against Germans have lost this evening. No real surprise for Robson, but Konta is a disappointment

[Gerontophile]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Azarenka has retired after injuring herself in the first set. She won the second, but was 0-4, before exiting.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

ad hoc wrote: Both British women up against Germans have lost this evening. No real surprise for Robson, but Konta is a disappointment

But not a great shock either. I saw a chunk of the first set and Jo was just hitting it up the middle at Goerges. That was unlikely to work, about the only way it could was if Julia had had one of her can't hit a barn door days.
Mats Wilander also said on the commentary that the draw was well night perfect for Goerges. Against a seeded player so no expectations, but a seeded player who had never played in the tournament main draw before, on your surface and not hers, and with her recent form being scratchy. That sounded right, and so it proved.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Tomrrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. What do we have? Actually not an awful lot stands out to my eye, oddly enough.

Men's
Milos Raonic [8] vs Adrian Mannarino (4th on Chatrier)
Jack Sock [23] vs Dustin Brown (2nd on Court 14)

Women's
Caroline Garcia vs Agnieszka Radwanska [2] (4th on Lenglen)
Svetlana Kuznetsova [13] vs Heather Watson (1st on Court 2)

Raonic moves to the big stage to take on a Frenchman, and therefore also the crowd. It would be a better match on hard, or even grass, though. Mannarino won only his second ever match at RG in R1, whereas he has been into the second week at Wimbledon and R3 on more than one occasion at Flushing Meadow. Still, clay it is, and how straightforwardly he copes will be a good evaluation of Raonic's credentials.
Sock-Brownn is another match that would be just as much fun, possibly more fun, on grass. But 'no fun' Dustin Brown matches don't exist. There will be a lot of powerful Tennis for the crowd to enjoy, and Brown is mercurial enough that he could pull off a shock.

Match-of-the-day for me is the clash of Garcia and Radwanska. Garcia has made waves in Paris before against big name players, and is at home on the surface. She has the power in her groundies and her serve to hit winners even on a clay court. Radwanska is not best suited to red dust, and is therefore vulnerable. The crowd will definitely be willing their countrywoman on to victory, and her winning doesn't strike me as at all implausible.
The final pick is a former winner and regular denizen of the second week against a non-clay courter who has never made it past R2 before. Why? Well, when Heather gets on a roll she can be quite a force. The points for R1 should mean Olympic qualification, which takes the pressure off. This is a shot to nothing. She will have to work hard to disrupt such an experience campaigner as Kuznetsova, but something just niggles at me that there is the potential for an upset here. And Watson winning would be a serious upset, have no doubt about that.

Other British singles matches
Andy Murray [2] vs Mathias Bourgue [WC] (3rd on Chatrier)
John Isner [15] vs Kyle Edmund (3rd on Court 14)

Finally, as so few picks, a word or two about these.
Murray should have way too much for Bourgue, who will have the crowd on his side but needs to harness that. Murray should be looking for a quick and clean kill here.
Can Edmund beat Isner. Well, if James Ward can on a hard court... It should be said that Isner is not a mug on clay, he has won Tour titles on the surface, but the court does tip the balance less in his favour. Edmund will need to hold his serve comfortably, and react well in returning Isner's. Or, if the first part is in the bag but not the second, play well in breakers. If he can reduce to the match to a handful of big points, and play those well, he has genuine hope of a win here.

[Etienne]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Edmund has an excellent record in tie-breakers this year.

[ad hoc]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Murray has just lost the 2nd set 6-2 after winning the first by the same score. Edmund is a set down to Isner, and Watson lost easily earlier today.

Not a great day for the Brits, so far.

Meanwhile Karlovic and Thompson are 9-9 in the final set and Paire is out.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Murray has won a game! Shouldn't worthy of note, but he had lost the previous 8. He is playing so passively again.

Karlovic won 12-10 in the fifth.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Andy Murray's in a bit of bother here, isn't he?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Looks like he's turned it round. Has anyone ever won a Grand Slam (or even reached a final) having had to play five-set matches all the way there?

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

I really doubt it. Tommy Robredo did come back from two sets down in three successive matches at Roland Garros a couple of years ago, but that eventually wore him down.

Bourgue is showing distinct signs of tiring. But the he had never played even a fourth set until today, let alone a fifth.

[Gerontophile]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Phew.

[Janik]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Aga Radwanska has just hit the shot of the tournament. Garcia absolutely ripped a return back at Radwanska's feet. It nearly knocked her over backwards, yet somehow she did one of those sitting half-volleys and it flew inch perfect into Garcia's backhand corner for a screaming winner. It set up match point,as well, though this went unconverted.

[ursus arctos]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

No doubt the current government will attribute this to Divine (and specifically Marian) intervention on behalf of a good Polish Catholic.

[Etienne]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Doesn't happen often, but the Janik picks have not been great today. That said, most matches have been straight sets, and the ones that haven't probably weren't as good to watch as the score suggests (hello Simon vs Pella).

[multipleman78]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

If Murray is to make the quarters he will probably need to defeat Karlovic then Isner. Tough battles but at least he won't be scrambling as much as he has been.

[Gerontophile]

Après Roger, le déluge – French Open 2016

Watching Irina something-Begu match, and they have a flag by her name that is not Romanian.

Any ideas? Blue and lime halved stripes.